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Old 05-31-2013, 03:59 PM   #1
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Considering a 2005 Meridian

I am looking at a Meridian by Winnebago. Anyone have experience with this coach ?

Don
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Old 05-31-2013, 04:43 PM   #2
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Many of us have that particular vintage of Journey/Meridian and I have not heard many complaints. Most of us love the coach.

If you can get it for the right price and it's in overall good condition, you shouldn't hesitate.

Do they have inherent problems? Sure, but all coaches do. Many can list the things you should be keeping an eye one ...roof seams, windshield seals, front door stop issues, blah, blah, blah ...you'll see many threads here in the owners' forum that pertain to this vintage of coach. But folks here are extremely helpful and can give you suggestions and help with whatever you may have questions or problems with.

Fundamentally, it's a good coach. We're pleased with ours.

-harry
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Old 06-01-2013, 01:57 AM   #3
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We upgraded from an '02 Winnebago Adventurer to our '04 Itasca Meridian a little over a year ago. Loved the Adventurer, but wanted to upgrade to diesel pusher for all of the standard reasons. Love the Itasca Meridian DP. It is all we wanted and then some. Winnebago builds the best product we have owned We have owned Fleetwood, Ultra and Winnebagos (4 of them). Prefer the Winnebago product line by far. Great customer support for anything you need for the life of the vehicle. Great support from the members on this forum as well. Good Luck with your purchase.
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Old 06-01-2013, 09:42 AM   #4
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Dorsal,
You have a PM.
Scott
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Old 06-01-2013, 08:53 PM   #5
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Dorsal,

As my signature shows, we have a 2004 Meridian. We upgraded from a Bounder gasser and like the Meridian. It was hard to trade the Bounder, but we are glad we did. There is so much information available for Itasca on the Winnebago site and the folks here are helpful as ever!
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Old 06-01-2013, 09:43 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorsal View Post
I am looking at a Meridian by Winnebago. Anyone have experience with this coach ?

Don
Yes...
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Old 06-01-2013, 11:27 PM   #7
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Yes...
Good answer
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Old 06-01-2013, 11:40 PM   #8
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We have a Itasca Meridian with 94,000 miles and have been very pleased with it. One very important thing is the great factory support. If you have questions they are there to help give you the answers. Ours is a 34 H and has lots of power to get you over the mountains. Good luck!!
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Old 06-02-2013, 07:24 AM   #9
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Good answer
Scott
Just waiting for the questions.....
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Old 09-30-2013, 09:42 AM   #10
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We pick up our Meridian today!!! It has new tires, and with almost 40K miles so it shouldn't have anything else worn out yet. My only concern is going down the road, I could hear a rattle under the floor in the center behind the seats and where the wheels and slides are. The tech who road with us on the test drive thought it was from the slide mechanisms. I am concerned as to it being a axle or strut problem. I know this unit has air ride, so I guess the shocks are air bags instead of whats on my truck. Any one else have this problem or know what it might be?

Thanks in advance!!
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Old 09-30-2013, 10:15 AM   #11
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The only time i have heard anything rattling or banging underneath is with a strong cross wind slamming the mudguard against a rear brace, and its loud!

Shocks AND airbags, front and rear
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Old 09-30-2013, 11:22 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by Y Roadrunner View Post
We pick up our Meridian today!!! It has new tires, and with almost 40K miles so it shouldn't have anything else worn out yet. My only concern is going down the road, I could hear a rattle under the floor in the center behind the seats and where the wheels and slides are. The tech who road with us on the test drive thought it was from the slide mechanisms. I am concerned as to it being a axle or strut problem. I know this unit has air ride, so I guess the shocks are air bags instead of whats on my truck. Any one else have this problem or know what it might be?

Thanks in advance!!
Roadrunner,
Many of this vintage Journey/Meridian have an annoying slide mechanism rattle in the passenger side slide just behind the passenger seat. There is a long vertical scissor-style mechanism that creates a loud metallic clanking noise when on rough road surfaces. On our model, running the slide partially out and then retracting it would tension the mechanism again and silence the rattle for a while until the rough roads would loosen the tension on the slide.

This may not be the condition your describing.... Just sayin' that it could be.

cheers,
Joopy
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Old 09-30-2013, 11:25 AM   #13
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I have a 2004 34ft Meridian with 96,000 trouble free miles and love it.
We also have a banging underneath in a strong crosswind. On ours it is a front mudflap that starts flapping against a panel underneath.
One thing to remember is that with the Meridian, you can get outstanding tech support from both Winnebago and Freightliner. For example, I lost Power For the left turn signal at the trailer plug by the tow hitch. I called Winny tech and found out that the fuses for the tow hitch are located behind a wall in the electric storage compartment . I do all my own service so any information like this is very helpful.
Good luck with your new Meridian,
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Old 09-30-2013, 01:47 PM   #14
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Quote:
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Roadrunner,
Many of this vintage Journey/Meridian have an annoying slide mechanism rattle in the passenger side slide just behind the passenger seat. There is a long vertical scissor-style mechanism that creates a loud metallic clanking noise when on rough road surfaces. On our model, running the slide partially out and then retracting it would tension the mechanism again and silence the rattle for a while until the rough roads would loosen the tension on the slide.

This may not be the condition your describing.... Just sayin' that it could be.

cheers,
Joopy
Joopy,
Just a bit of info here in case you were not aware of it. I'm not sure who makes the mechanism for your slides but, in our '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330 CAT, the entire slide propulsion system as well as the Jacks are all manufactured by HWH. And, in their operation instructions, it specifically states that if you start to extend a slide, you are to EXTEND IT ALL THE WAY! They don't want you extending partially and then reversing the direction. The reason is, there's "equalizing" cylinders in the system and their job is to keep the slides running parallel and true all the way out, and all the way in. To stop half way and reverse the action has potential for misalignment due to the equalizing cylinders can't do what's needed to keep the units true to the coach frame.

Now, again, not sure of who made yours and, it's certainly your coach and you can operate any portion of it as you like. I just thought I'd throw this at ya for info. Take care.
Scott
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Old 10-01-2013, 08:05 AM   #15
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Thanks, I hope it's just slide noise or cables or hoses that hang when not extended than a wheel problem. I guess with air bag suspension, I shouldn't hear any noise from the suspension.

Thank you everyone!!
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Old 10-01-2013, 08:32 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by Y Roadrunner View Post
Thanks, I hope it's just slide noise or cables or hoses that hang when not extended than a wheel problem. I guess with air bag suspension, I shouldn't hear any noise from the suspension.

Thank you everyone!!
I think i would pursue locating what it is. Ours is a 34H and very quiet. The only model with passenger side slides is a 39K, and I see very few of those around.
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Old 10-01-2013, 08:36 AM   #17
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What model are we talking about?
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Old 10-01-2013, 09:16 AM   #18
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I really like my '05 34H. I have put in many upgrades, emgine, suspension, solar, and living area and would not trade in for anything. Looks and runs like new. The only things I do not have is floor heating and instant hot water but I cannot see paying 100's thousands for that. One annoying problem is the satellite dish that I do not use that rattles in high cross winds on the road. Not bad enough to take the time to remove or fix. Oh, one draw back is no real utensil drawer in the kitchen or a pantry due to larger fridge and gas oven. We work around that but not a real issue. Good luck and happy travels.
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Old 10-01-2013, 09:17 AM   #19
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Originally Posted by FIRE UP View Post
Joopy,
Just a bit of info here in case you were not aware of it. I'm not sure who makes the mechanism for your slides but, in our '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330 CAT, the entire slide propulsion system as well as the Jacks are all manufactured by HWH. And, in their operation instructions, it specifically states that if you start to extend a slide, you are to EXTEND IT ALL THE WAY! They don't want you extending partially and then reversing the direction. The reason is, there's "equalizing" cylinders in the system and their job is to keep the slides running parallel and true all the way out, and all the way in. To stop half way and reverse the action has potential for misalignment due to the equalizing cylinders can't do what's needed to keep the units true to the coach frame.

Now, again, not sure of who made yours and, it's certainly your coach and you can operate any portion of it as you like. I just thought I'd throw this at ya for info. Take care.
Scott
Hi Scott,

Thanks for that tidbit of information. I was not aware of that detail. Fortunately, it never caused a misalignment for the slide.... probably dumb luck that it didn't misalign. Ours was an 05' Journey 39k which had the HWH slides and jacks. I said "was" because a few weeks ago we purchased a 13' Journey 36M which now has the LCI slides and jacks. The HWH systems worked fine for us in the 39k and I'm not sure the LCI systems have had enough history yet for me to feel confident in terms of reliability. The Schwintek slide system is certainly a much simpler (and less expensive) system, but will it match the HWH reliability? I suppose time will tell.

cheers,
Joopy
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Old 10-01-2013, 04:21 PM   #20
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I would say that the rattle you are hearing is your roll-bar bushings are shot, and it's metal to metal.

Look under the chassis, at the large U-shaped roll bar. On the ends of that bar, whereit attaches to the steel rods connecting it to the frame, there should be black plastic bushings. Total of 8, as there are 4 on eacb end of those round steel connecting rods.

I just replaced mine 2 weeks ago, and told a friend about it. He checked and found the same problem. You can order them from Freightliner parts dept I Gaffney, for .81/ea.
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